Clothes-hanger

ABSTRACT

A clothes-hanger is disclosed having a fixed hook member which pivotably supports a second hook member. The second hook member can pivot to a position in which it locks the hanger on a rail, but can be released by operating handle portions provided on the hook members.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a clothes-hanger and more particularlyto a clothes-hanger provided with a hook for suspending the hanger on aclothes rail or the like. The hook comprises a member secured to thebody of the hanger having a recess to receive the clothes rail and anopening leading to the recess so that the said member can be readilypassed over a rail, the rail being received in the recess.

In conventional clothes-hangers a hook is provided which consists of anordinary single hook screwed into the body of the hanger, if the hangeris made of wood, or attached to the body in some other convenient way,or made integrally with the hanger if the hanger is formed of wire or isintegrally moulded from a plastics material. Such clothes-hangers may beutilised with clothes rails of many different shapes, but onedisadvantage experienced with such hangers is that when a plurality ofgarments mounted on individual hangers are packed closely on a rail itis easy, when removing or hanging up another garment, accidentally torelease an adjacent hanger from the rail so that it falls to the ground.Of course, this is a great inconvenience not only in the home, but alsoin cloakrooms and cupboards, and in premises which are open to thepublic such as restaurants, waiting rooms, offices, and the like.However, the disadvantage is especially inconvenient in shops whereclothing is sold, particularly if the clothing if of a kind which iseasily spoiled by being dropped on the floor, for example, clothing thatis light in colour so that it becomes visibly dirty when the clothing isdropped on the floor.

This particular problem experienced with conventional clothes-hangers,namely the problem that the clothes-hangers are easily accidentallydislodged from the clothes rail so that they fall onto the floor, hasbeen known for a long time and various proposals have been made whichseek to solve this problem. Almost without exception these proposalsinvolve the use of a especially designed clothes rail, the hook orhanging means provided on the clothes-hanger being specifically designedto cooperate with the special clothes rail. One example of a priorproposed clothes hanger of this type is a hanger in which theconventional hook is replaced by a hanging element comprising a shaftprojecting vertically upwardly from the body of the hanger andterminating in a head. The clothes rail is in the form of a tube, andthe lower side of the tube is provided with a plurality oflongitudinally extending slots, each dimensioned to accommodate one ofthe shafts. A number of notches are provided which are connected to theslots, the notches being dimensioned so that the head on a shaft can beinserted into the tube through one of the notches, the head thenengaging the sides of the slot so that the shaft is supported by theinside of the tube, the body of the hanger thus being suspended belowthe clothes rail. In commercially available embodiments of this proposala hanger can only be removed from the clothes rail when its head isimmediately opposite a notch and in order to remove a particular hangerfrom the clothes rail it may be necessary to push one or more otherhangers past the notch, and thus one or more of the hangers may catch inthe notch.

A hook arrangement which cannot be unintentionally dislodged from anordinary rail has been proposed previously in connection with a hangerfor suspending boots. This prior proposed hook arrangement comprises ahook member defining an eye, and a tongue which extends upwardly fromthe end of the eye adjacent the body of the boot hanger and whichterminates a predetermined distance from the free end of the memberforming the eye of the hook. This predetermined distance is less thanthe diameter of the clothes rail on which the hook is to be mounted, andthe tongue is rigid in the plane of the eye, but is flexible in adirection perpendicular to this plane. The tongue thus prevents the hookfrom being unintentionally dislodged from the rail. The hanger isremoved or hung up by withdrawing or inserting the hook member over therail at an angle to the vertical plane so that the tongue can be pressedout of the way. It has been found that this particular design issuitable for use with hangers that are intended to support boots, sincethese hangers are not normally removed from the clothes rail once theyhave been hung up. This is because a conventional hanger for boots isprovided with a clamp, which may resemble a large clothes-peg, whichgrips the upper edges of the legs of the boots to be supported. It hasbeen found that this particular hook design is not, however, suitablefor use with clothes-hangers, since the hanger must be inclined forremoval and hanging up.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a clotheshanger which, when suspended on a clothes rail, cannot beunintentionally dislodged therefrom, but which, in spite of this, iseasy to hang or remove from the rail.

It is another object of the invention to provide a clothes hanger whichcan be readily manufactured.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to this invention there is provided a clothes-hangercomprising a hanger body, a hook for suspending the hanger on a clothesrail, said hook comprising a first member secured to the body of thehanger, said first hook member defining a recess to receive a clothesrail and an opening leading to the recess so that the first hook membercan be passed over a rail, the rail being received in the recess, asecond hook member, the second hook member being rearwardly mounted inrelation to the first hook member, and together with the first hookmember forming a locking mechanism which, when the hanger is suspendedon a rail, limits the width of the said opening leading to the recess,thus locking the hanger on the rail and preventing unintentionaldislodgement of the hanger from the rail, and which in an open positionpermits the hanger readily to be removed from or hung up on a railwithout inclining the hanger.

Preferably the second hook member is pivotable in a vertical plane inrelation to the stationary first hook member when the hanger is mountedon a rail and conveniently the pivot axis for the pivoting movement ofthe second hook member is located so that the force of gravity acting onthe second hook member at least contributes to the locking action of thesaid locking mechanism.

Preferably the movable second hook member is spring loaded in such a waythat in the absence of any external influence the locking mechanism willassume a closed locking position.

Conveniently the first member comprises a first protruding sectionadapted to act as a handle, and the movable second hook member isprovided with a protruding section which also acts as a handle, the twoprotruding sections being arranged substantially side by side, themovable handle section being movable in a vertical plane, movement ofthe second handle portion relative to the first handle portion causingthe locking mechanism to enter its closed or opened position.

Conveniently the hanger may be provided with guide means to guide thehanger when the hanger is being hung upon a rail, the guide meansextending obliquely above the recess defined by the hook means and beinglocated on the opposite side of the recess to said first protrudingmeans.

Preferably the clothes-hanger in accordance with the invention isdesigned so that the sections of the hanger balance one another, so thatwhen the hanger is suspended the hanger hangs vertically.

In one particular embodiment of the invention the hanger body defines atrouser bar having a free end located between the said handle sections.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be more readily understood and so thatfurther features thereof may be appreciated, the invention will now bedescribed by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings,in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of one embodiment of a clothes-hanger inaccordance with the invention, and

FIG. 2 is a front view of part of an alternative embodiment of aclothes-hanger in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings a clothes-hanger inaccordance with the present invention comprises a body 1 and hook means2 for suspending the hanger on a clothes rail 3 or the like, the clothesrail being illustrated in phantom. The hook device 2 comprises a firsthook member which is integrally formed with or rigidly secured to thebody 1 of the hanger, and a second hook member which is pivotallymounted relative to the first hook member 4. The stationary first hookmember 4 defines a recess to receive and accommodate the rail 3, andalso defines an opening 7 leading to the recess so that the hook member4 can be passed over the rail and so that the rail can be receivedwithin the recesss, the hanger thus being suspended from the rail.

The first hook member 4, together with the second hook member 5,together form a locking member, which in one position, which can betermed a closed or rest position, this being the position illustrated inFIG. 1, limits the width 8 of the opening 7 to less than the diameter 9of the rail 3, thus locking the hanger in position on the rail 3 andpreventing unintentional dislodgement of the hanger from the rail 3. Thelocking mechanism normally enters the closed, rest position when thehanger is suspended on the rail. The locking mechanism also has anopened position, not shown in the accompanying drawings which permitsthe hangers to be removed from the rail, or hung on the rail without thehanger being inclined.

The hook members 4 and 5, as well as the body of the hanger 1, are madeof a suitable plastics material, for instance ABS plastics material, asillustrated in FIG. 1, but the hook members and the hanger body may alsobe made of plywood or any other suitable material. Furthermore, in theillustrated embodiment, the stationary first hook member 4 is madeintegrally with the body of the hanger 1 and in the same plane as thebody of the hanger 1. It is to be understood that alternativearrangements may be utilised.

In the embodiment illustrated the hook member 4 comprises a shaft 10which projects, in the plane of the hanger body 1, but at an angle tothe vertical, generally upwardly from the body 1 and terminating in themember which protrudes horizontally on either side of the recess 3, themember defining a first protruding handle section 11, on one side of therecess 6 and, on the other side of the recess 6 a protruding portion 12which defines a sloping guide surface to guide the hanger when it isbeing hung on the rail 3. A peg or boss 13 is located on the shaft 10,this peg 13 acting as a pivotal support for the second movable hookmember 5. The hook member 5 comprises a protruding handle section 14 anda hook part 15, the hook part 15 extending below the recess 6, and, inthe position illustrated in FIG. 1, protruding from below into theopening 7, thus limiting the width of the opening 7. The second handlesection 14 is arranged substantially side by side with the first handlesection 11, and since the second hook member 5 is pivotally mounted onthe peg 13, the second handle section is movable relative to the firsthandle section between a position in which the second handle section 14is substantially superimposed over the first handle section 11, and theposition in which the second handle section 14 protrudes beyond thefirst handle section 11. The locking mechanism formed by the hookmembers 4 and 5 is in the closed or rest position when the second handlesection 14 protrudes beyond the first handle section 11, this being theposition illustrated in FIG. 1. It is to be noted that the distance 8between the free end of the hook section 15 and the guide member 12 isless than the diameter 9 of the rail 3.

When the two handle sections 11 and 14 are gripped simultaneously thelocking mechanism is opened, since the second handle section 14 willpivot from its initial position to a position in which the second handlesection 14 is substantially superimposed over the first handle section11, this causing pivotal movement of the hook section 15 away from theopening 7, thus permitting the rail 3 to be moved through the opening 7.Thus, when the two handle sections are gripped in order to remove thehanger from the rail, the hanger is forcibly released from its lockingposition.

As will be appreciated from a consideration of FIG. 1 it is possible forthe movable second hook member 5 to be designed, with respect to theposition of the peg 13, that the force of gravity exerted on the hookmember 5 at least contributes to the locking mechanism assuming itsclosed position of rest as shown in FIG. 1. However, it is to beappreciated that a spring biassing means 16 may be arranged as well, oralternatively, to return the movable second hook member to its initiallocking position after the locking mechanism has been opened so that thelocking mechanism automatically assumes its closed position of rest.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 the body 1 of the hangercomprises an upper portion 17 in the form of an invert obtuse angled"V", and a trouser bar 18 which is made in one piece with the upperportion 17. The trouser bar has a free end 19 located beneath the handlesections 11 and 14 the free end of the trouser bar thus being on thesame side of a notional vertical line through the recess 6 for theclothes rail as the handle sections 11 and 14. The free end 19 isseparated from the upper portion 17 of the hanger by a space 20 throughwhich the trousers can easily be passed when hanging the trousers on thebar 18, or when removing the trousers from the bar 18. The opposite endof the bar 18 is connected to the upper portion 17 of the hanger by areinforced section 21.

The handle sections 11 and 14 are designed to compensate the differencein weight caused by the guide member 12, the reinforced section 21 andthe opening 20 so that the hanger hangs vertically in relation to thehorizontal plane when suspended from the clothes rail 3.

The surface 22 of the body 1 below the shaft 10 provides the space whichcan carry a logo, a trademark, the name of the company or the like, thissurface being at the same time designed to provide reinforcement of thecentral part of the body 1. The side of the first handle section 11provides a space to enable a marking 23 to be provided, this markingindicating, for instance, the style or size or price of a garmentsupported on the rail.

Referring now to FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings which illustrates asecond embodiment of the invention it will be appreciated that in thisembodiment a stationary hook member 104 is provided constituting part ofthe hook device 102, the stationary hook 104 being substantially thesame as the hook member 4 of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1. A pegor pivot support 113 is provided at the free end of the first handlesection 111, and two stops 124 and 125 are provided which protrude fromthe plane of the hook member 114 to limit the pivotal movement of thesecond hook member 105 about the peg 113. The second hook member 105comprises a second handle section 114 and a hook part 115, but the hookpart 115 is located above the recess 106 and protrudes from above intothe opening 107 limiting its width so that the clothes rail 103 islocked into the recess 106. In this embodiment of the invention themovable hook member 105 is pivotably journalled at one end so that theclosing action caused by the force of gravity is extremely pronounced.In this embodiment, therefore, it is generally not necessary to provideany auxiliary spring means. It is to be appreciated that in all otherrespects the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 is similar to thatdescribed above and illustrated in FIG. 1.

It is to be appreciated that the clothes hanger in accordance with thepresent invention may be suitable for a valet stand. The horizontalupper side of the stationary hook member may in this case be utilizedfor supporting ties or socks.

It is to be appreciated that the invention is not limited to thepreferred embodiments described above that may be varied within thescope and spirit of the following claims.

I claim:
 1. A clothes-hanger comprising a hanger body, a hook forsuspending the hanger body on a clothes rail, said hook comprising astationary first hook member secured to the body of the hanger, saidfirst hook member defining a recess to receive a clothes rail, anopening leading to the recess so that the first hook member can bepassed over the rail and a first handle section, a second hook memberpivotable in a vertical plane in relation to the stationary first hookmember when the hanger hangs vertically on a rail, said second hookmember having a locking portion cooperating with the stationary firsthook member in one position to limit the width of the said openingleading to the recess, to permit the hanger to be locked on a rail andthus preventing unintentional dislodgement of the hanger from the rail,and in a second position to permit the hanger to be removed from or hungupon a rail without inclining the hanger, said movable second hookmember having a second handle section which is arranged substantiallyside by side with the first handle section, the second handle sectionbeing movable in the vertical plane between a position in which thesecond handle section is substantially superimposed with the firsthandle section and a position in which said second handle sectionextends away from the first handle section, the locking position beingin its first locking position when the second handle section extendsaway from said first handle section, and the locking portion being inits second opened position when the second handle section issubstantially superimposed on the first handle section.
 2. A clotheshanger according to claim 1 wherein the pivot axis for the pivotingmovement of the second hook member is located so that the force ofgravity acting on the second hook member at least contributes to thelocking portion assuming a closed locking position.
 3. A clothes-hangeraccording to claim 1 wherein the movable second hook member is springbiassed towards the closed locking position.
 4. A clothes hangeraccording to claim 1 wherein the stationary first hook member isprovided with guide means to guide the hanger when it is being hung onthe rail, the guide means extending obliquely above the recess and beinglocated on the opposite side of the recess to the first handle section.5. A clothes-hanger according to claim 1 wherein the sections of thehanger balance one another so that when the hanger is suspended thehanger hangs vertically in relation to the horizontal plane.
 6. Aclothes-hanger according to claim 5 wherein the hanger comprises atrouser bar having a free end located below said handle sections.